Giants Lose Jaxson Dart for the Season, Hand the Offense to Jameis Winston

Jaxson Dart's rookie season is over. Now the New York Giants have to figure out how to win football games without him.

Dart suffered a torn PCL and meniscus when he was hit by two Los Angeles Rams defenders on the seventh play from scrimmage during New York's 28-6 loss on Monday night, September 21. Head coach Brian Daboll confirmed after Wednesday's practice that Dart will need surgery and will miss the rest of the 2026 regular season. Asked whether Dart could return if the Giants make the playoffs, Daboll wouldn't commit either way: "There's no way to know. It just depends on the recovery. You can't pinpoint it exactly."

The injury caps a short but historic start for Dart. In Week 1 against Dallas, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to open a season with at least three passing touchdowns, 50 rushing yards, and a passer rating above 130, according to the Giants' own team reporting. He didn't get far in Week 2, going down after completing three of five passes for 20 yards.

Winston Takes Over, Playbook Follows

Jameis Winston relieved Dart against the Rams and struggled, completing 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with one interception while getting sacked twice. The Rams recorded eight quarterback hits and broke up 10 passes, and Winston finished that stretch with a 37.7 passer rating. He threw an interception in the red zone on a forced throw. "I have to execute better and I am going to execute better," Winston said afterward.

Now it's his offense. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka told reporters the team built its scheme from the start to handle exactly this scenario. "When we first got started, we wanted to be prepared to have multiple styles of offense," Kafka said. "So if something like this does happen, it doesn't put you in a hole where it changes everything."

That doesn't mean nothing changes. Dart's read-option runs and scrambling ability disappear. In their place: more of Winston's downfield arm, including the kind of aggressive shots he took to Malik Nabers and Malachi Fields against the Rams, both incomplete, when his first reads were covered. Daboll described the shift plainly: "He's a big, strong, passing quarterback who can throw the ball. His strengths are evident, so that's what you build the offense around." He called the adjustment "more like a lane change" than a complete overhaul, since the concepts already exist in the playbook.

The Turnover Question Nobody's Hiding From

Winston's history with interceptions is not a secret, and Kafka isn't pretending otherwise. "We know who he is," Kafka said. "There's a lot of feast or famine with him. We talked all training camp about protecting the football. Ball security is paramount with the type of team that we have."

In 2019 with Tampa Bay, Winston led the NFL in both passing yards (5,109) and interceptions (30) while throwing 33 touchdowns. According to figures compiled by the Giants, he's completed 60.9% of his passes for 24,903 yards, 156 touchdowns, and 114 interceptions across 109 career games and 89 starts with the Buccaneers, Saints, Browns, and Giants. Yahoo Sports reports that within those 89 starts specifically, he's completed 61.1% of his passes for 150 touchdowns and 107 interceptions, averaging 270 yards per game.

Giants fans skeptical of this plan have a fair point. A quarterback who throws interceptions at that rate is a real risk for a team trying to stay competitive, and New York already leaned run-heavy with Cam Skattebo, Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy Jr., and Devin Singletary before Dart went down. That run-first approach likely gets heavier now, since it takes pressure off Winston to force throws.

But Daboll and Kafka are betting on experience over risk-aversion. Winston signed a two-year, $13 million contract extension five days before the season opener, and he's started 89 NFL games over 12 seasons, including two starts for the Giants in 2025 while Dart was in concussion protocol as a rookie. "Thank God he's been here for all OTAs and training camp," Kafka said. "Calling a play, understanding why a play is in, his eyes go where our eyes go."

Outside Noise on a Backup

With Winston now the only proven arm on the roster, speculation has surfaced about the Giants pursuing outside help. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith argued on-air that New York should pursue Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who is stuck behind Deshaun Watson after losing the 2026 starting job in camp. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio floated similar logic, noting Sanders is "a gamer" who could use game reps elsewhere. No source indicates the Browns have signaled interest in trading Sanders, and neither the Giants nor the Browns have confirmed any talks. This remains analyst speculation, not a reported transaction.

For now, the plan is Winston, and Sunday's game against the winless Titans (0-2) at MetLife Stadium is the first real test of whether Kafka's redesigned playbook can keep the ball out of the wrong hands. Running back Cam Skattebo, at least, likes what he's seen in practice: "He had a great day of practice. I appreciate him for his leadership."